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12/17/2003
The senate has approved the continuing operation of Czech military missions in both Iraq and the Balkans. 500 Czech soldiers will continue to serve in the Balkans next year as well as 150 military police in Iraq. Both missions were supported by 49 out of 58 senators present on Wednesday, while three senators from the Communist Party and one member of the government senior Social Democratic Party voted against. The chamber of deputies will now vote on the issue on Thursday. In Iraq, Czech military police will mainly be in charge of training local police officers, while in the Balkans, Czech soldiers will continue operating within the Czech-Slovak KFOR battalion in north-east Kosovo. Their mission includes monitoring the 104 km long border between Kosovo and Serbia.
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12/17/2003
The senate has passed a bill that should make public tenders more transparent in the Czech Republic. 42 out of 64 senators voted in favour with just 10 voting against; the bill will now move to the chamber of deputies. The bill on public tenders brings Czech legislation on tenders in line with EU regulations; its passing will open the door to over 70 billion crowns in European funds from Brussels over the next two years.
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12/17/2003
The Spolana chemical plant near Prague suffered a chemical leak on Wednesday during which a corrosive solution known as oleum escaped during routine cleaning measures, letting sulphuric oxide into the air. The plant treated the accident as a first degree chemical emergency; in the end no one was hurt and the leak did not reach beyond factory walls. Fire-fighters were called in at around noon to help in the clean-up.
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12/17/2003
Petr Mach, the former president of Prague's first division football club Sparta Prague, has been granted an early release from prison. Mr Mach began serving a five year sentence for tax fraud in June 2001, after Mr Mach had failed to declare a luxury BMW automobile bought in Germany. His failure to declare the vehicle divested the state of more than 1.3 million crowns. Mr Mach's release decided by a Prague court must now be confirmed by a state attorney.
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12/15/2003
The deputy prime ministers of Slovakia and the Czech Republic have admitted the influx of Slovak Romanies to the Czech Republic is a problem, but not a critical one. Czech Prime Minster Petr Mares and his Slovak counterpart Pal Csaky agreed at a meeting in Bratislava that a special commission would be set up to address the issue. So far this year more than 1,000 Roma families from Slovakia have sought asylum in the Czech Republic. Mr Mares said what he described as "social tourism" was unacceptable under European law. He said none of the 1,000 Slovak families would be granted asylum in his country.
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12/15/2003
The European Commissioner for Enlargement, Guenter Verheugen, has said everyone in Europe should pay a visit to the former Nazi concentration camp at Terezin, north of Prague. Mr Verheugen, speaking during a visit to the camp, said the people of Europe must be reminded that peace and democracy cannot be taken for granted. More than 150,000 Jews from throughout Europe were interned at Terezin, known in German as Theresienstadt, before being transported to death camps such as Auschwitz. Today the camp, which also housed Czech political prisoners, is a museum.
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12/14/2003
The Czech prime minister, Vladimir Spidla, has expressed disappointment at the failure of a European Union summit to decide on a constitution. Speaking after talks collapsed in Brussels on Saturday, Mr Spidla said he hoped the outstanding issues would be settled in the near future. He also said he was not in favour of a two-speed EU with countries in favour of faster integration leaving other members behind. However, if such a two-speed Union does emerge, the Czech Republic should be among the more dynamic group, Prime Minister Spidla said.
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12/14/2003
Speaking to Radio Prague the Czech foreign minister, Cyril Svoboda, said that the Czech Republic's key demands as regards the constitution had not changed.
"The three main points are the commission, the qualified majority voting system and the weight of the votes. All the three problems are still on the table and it is up to all the delegations, up to all the states, to go very carefully through the three points."
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12/14/2003
Senior Czech politicians have welcomed the arrest of Saddam Hussein by United States forces. President Vaclav Klaus said the capture of the former dictator of Iraq should speed up the process of consolidation in the country, while Prime Minister Spidla said the transfer of power to the Iraqi people should now take place more quickly. Foreign Minister Svoboda, meanwhile, praised the work of the United States intelligence services in the capture of Saddam.
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12/14/2003
Former foreign minister Jan Kavan, who is a member of the Social Democrats, has declined an offer to stand for the Communist Party in elections next year to the European Parliament. Speaking on TV Nova on Sunday, he also said he had turned down a low position on the Social Democrats' list of candidates. The Communists offered Mr Kavan a high place on their list, which would have given him a relatively good chance of being elected. Jan Kavan, who last year was president of the United Nations General Assembly, has been involved in several controversies since the early 1990s.
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